Senior (鬼学长 aka รุ่นพี่ aka Runpee) Movie Review | by tiffanyyong.com
Recommended Audience: Fans of Jannine Wiegel, Phongsakon Tosuwan, Sa-ad Piampongsan，Wisit Sasanatieng and thai horror/ romance movie fans
Senior (鬼学长 aka รุ่นพี่ aka Runpee) Movie Synopsis
The newest enrollee at a convent boarding school, the introverted Mon (Jannine Weigel) becomes the laughing stock when her classmates catch her sniffing at various objects all the time. Perceiving her as a weirdo, what they do not know is that Mon actually possesses a paranormal power that allows her to smell the presence of spirits.
One night in the girls’ toilet, Mon encounters a mysterious ghostly being, who calls himself Senior (Pongsakorn Tosuwan), and is roped into his investigation of a brutal murder that happened 50 years ago. Senior is invisible to everyone including Mon. Along the way, the unlikely detective duo runs into both human and supernatural forces that attempt to obstruct them from the truth, no matter what it takes.
On the other hand, who is the mysterious Senior? Will Mon live to find out?
Senior (鬼学长 aka รุ่นพี่ aka Runpee) Viewer Rating: 3.5/5 ***
Senior (鬼学长 aka รุ่นพี่ aka Runpee) Movie Review:
If you like Thai romance film, Senior (鬼学长 aka รุ่นพี่ aka Runpee) is one with some horror element to it. Besides horror thrills, you get to do some detective work in a Catholic Convent school.
This was an interesting genre. Similar to Melinda Gordon in The Ghost Whisperer, Adhiti, nickname Mon is often able to communicate with spirits. Instead of seeing them, she sniffs them out (like a dog). Her eccentric behaviour (she’s not scared of the ghosts, and doesn’t hide from others the fact that she can communicate with them) made the story interesting.
Unlike the conventional Thai horror films, the movie did not keep me in tenterhooks throughout the film. With a ghost and human acting as a pair of detective to uncover the mystery of a murder case 50 years ago, I like how the director provide alternative insights as to why ghosts can walk through walls. Here, ghosts can’t actually walk through walls. They can walk to places where there were paths when they were alive. So even if walls were built after they died, they will be still be able to walk through. Human can only see ghosts when they are about to dead.
With the two main leads as eye-candies, it felt like watching a Japanese anime (especially with the special effects). It was pretty fun trying to second-guess what they will discover and what they will do to find out. Meanwhile, watching the duo make fun of each other was sweet yet sad (as you know they can never be together). It is also because of this that made the audience lower their guards and when the scares come, they were enough to give me goosebumps.
As the cast were made up of new faces, hence the acting were pretty raw and bad (especially Mon’s good friend Ant (Kaykai Nutticha Namwong). The subplot of bullying in school was run-of-the-mill, and there were times where it felt like Mon was more of going along with Ant’s friendliness where absorbed in her world with her “senior”.
Bom Phongsakon Tosuwan as the ghostly senior looked pretty cool in the dark. However, his white powdered face looked extremely fake (and his teeth yellow) under bright daylight. It might be more believable if they tried to make him semi-translucent, so that it doesn’t distract the audience from the plot.
If you are a fan of Thai films, this is probably something that provides some element of surprise. However, if you are going for extreme horror, this might be too mild for you. 🙂
Do You Know?
After a five-year hiatus from commercial filmmaking- The Red Eagle (2010), Wisit Sasanatieng wrote and directed Runpee (รุ่นพี่, a.k.a. Senior) produced by the studio M-Thirtynine. The director is known for picking new talents and using them as the leads of his films.
Mon, the main lead of the film – Jannine Weigel (Ploychompoo) is a half German-Thai Youtuber who has more than 1.5 million subscribers.
Senior is Bom Tosuwan Phongsakon’s acting debut. He also sings and plays the guitar.
Behind The Scenes and Interviews
Check out Senior (鬼学长 aka รุ่นพี่ aka Runpee) Facebook Page!
Senior (鬼学长 aka รุ่นพี่ aka Runpee) is out in cinemas on 18 February 2016.
xoxo
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
*Disclosure: No monetary compensation was received for the movie review.
1/2 of #TheEpiphanyDuplet, Tiffany Yong juggles her ABCs – Acting, Blogging and Coaching/Consulting as she is fuelled by passion and drive to succeed.
It is not easy to make a living in Singapore just purely based on Acting, so with Blogging to help her with her online presence, and Coaching kids drama, private tutoring and freelance social media consulting to finance her life, she is currently leading the life most people hope to have: Living the Dream!
The story sounds really interesting. I’d love to see this movie and find out how it ends. Nice idea to combine a ghost with a human – and solving a crime from the past… cool twist 😉
His makeup really too bright… But finally a Thai ghost movie that I will consider to watch. Should have no horror scene, right?
There is. not much…
Great blogging about these unique movies. Unique as they may, they have their own genre which deserve their following.
Sounds like an interesting movie to watch, dont usually like Thai movies because it tends to be scary but this one sounds more like a genre I usually pick up in books
Oh my god the main actress and actor in this movie are so pretty. But I dare not watch horror movie huhuhu
I miss Thai horror films. They are not being shown here anymore. This one looks interesting. But yes, glad you mentioned the whiteface looks so hilariously fake. Like the Cullens.
The movie poster sure looks creepy. This movie seems worth watching. I know I’d love to watch this. Thanks for sharing this review.
This looks interesting. I don’t know if I’m into romantic horror movies, but I may give it a try!!! Thanks for a great review.
I have watched a few Thai horror films though I get really scared watching them. This movie is something I will watch I think.
It mixes a lot of genre, horror, suspense, romance and youth. It would be nice to follow the story here with the wide range of emotions.
I’m not particularly a fan of movies like this however this one doesn’t seem that scary so maybe if I ever get the chance to see it I will.
Well! I hardly watch horror movies and most of the time scared of them.
i agree with the movie being intriguing, but it’s not something I would watch to be honest. I think I saw two Thai movies in the past, they’re cute and has got lots of obvious effects. :p Nice review!
His ‘ghost’ make up does look a little bit too much in bright lighting. Maybe they should have toned it down a little for day light scenes.
Detective ghost! The plot of the movies seems to be very interesting. Will surely watch this with subtitles 😀
This movie looks super intriguing! Horror movies have always been a dangerous guilty pleasure for me hahaha! 😀
I have watched some thai movies before and I must say Thai are really good when it comes to making horror films. I love the concept of this movie. The two actors have chemistry. I wonder where I can watch this.
Now that’s interesting… I like these spirit movies where the spirit is more human like and friendly than scary beasts. I’ve seen a movie where the spirit of the parents of the hero, guide him through difficult times by interacting with the hero’s son!!!
I like reading your movie reviews because we don’t get to see these movies in our country. I’m glad to keep abreast with the latest in other places. -Claire Algarme
Jannine Weigel looks so cute. I think I would want to watch this movie because of her. Now I’m subscribed to her channel on YouTube. 🙂
I will love this movie, hope it will be shown here in the Philippines or if not I can watch it online. I love watching detective, thriller and horror story.
I’m really not good with horror films, lol. They terrify me so much. But if it’s just an additional element, like this one, I don’t really mind watching it!
wow this looks good. i wanna watch this.. hope i get to have time to check it out.